In New York City, a Defiant Girl Confronts the Wall Street Bull

Charging Bull is a long-withstanding icon of Manhattan’s Financial District, but it appears the beloved symbol of American prosperity has met its match. Ahead of International Women’s Day on Wednesday, March 8, a leading asset manager commissioned a bronze statue of a little girl confronting the public artwork. The gesture is part of a new campaign to fill the gender gap on Wall Street.

State Street Global Advisors, one of the largest asset managers in the world, is responsible for overseeing the installation of bronze guerrilla statue Fearless Girl in front of Charging Bull. The artwork is a nod to State Street’s equality campaign, designed to increase the number of women in senior positions on Wall Street.

State Street is urging every company to diversify on the basis that it statistically “improve[s] company performance and increase[s] shareholder value,” reportsBusiness Insider. According to The Independent, “more than 85 per cent of financial advisors on Wall Street are said to be men, and State Street says 25 per cent of Russell 3,000 Index companies have no women on their boards.”

President and CEO of State Street, Ron O’Hanley, said in a statement, “Today, we are calling on companies to take concrete steps to increase gender diversity on their boards and have issued clear guidance to help them begin to take action.”

The artistic representation of a progressive future, Fearless Girl was created by artist Kristen Visbal and installed early Tuesday morning.